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The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl's Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation
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Pages 170-178
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CHAPTER IX THE BÁB'S STAY IN SHIRAZ AFTER THE PILGRIMAGE (Continued)
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1 |
SOON after the arrival of Mullá Husayn at Shíráz,
the voice of the people rose again in protest against
him. The fear and indignation of the multitude
were excited by the knowledge of his continued
and intimate intercourse with the Báb. "He again has come
to our city," they clamoured; "he again has raised the standard
of revolt and is, together with his chief, contemplating
a still fiercer onslaught upon our time-honoured institutions."
So grave and menacing became the situation that the Báb
instructed Mullá Husayn to regain, by way of Yazd, his native
province of Khurásán. He likewise dismissed the rest of
His companions who had gathered in Shíráz, and bade them
return to Isfahán. He retained Mullá `Abdu'l-Karím, to
whom He assigned the duty of transcribing His writings.
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2 |
These precautionary measures which the Báb deemed
wise to undertake, relieved Him from the immediate danger
of violence from the infuriated people of Shíráz, and served
to lend a fresh impetus to the propagation of His Faith beyond
the limits of that city. His disciples, who had spread throughout
the length and breadth of the country, fearlessly proclaimed
to the multitude of their countrymen the regenerating
power of the new-born Revelation. The fame of the Báb
had been noised abroad and had reached the ears of those
who held the highest seats of authority, both in the capital
and throughout the provinces.
[1]
A wave of passionate enquiry
swayed the minds and hearts of both the leaders and the
masses of the people. Amazement and wonder had seized
those who had heard from the lips of the immediate messengers
of the Báb the tales of those signs and testimonies
which had heralded the birth of His Manifestation. The
dignitaries of State and Church either attended in person or
delegated their ablest representatives to enquire into the
truth and character of this remarkable Movement.
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3 |
Muhammad Sháh
[2]
himself was moved to ascertain the
veracity of these reports and to enquire into their nature.
He delegated Siyyid Yahyáy-i-Darábí,
[3]
the most learned, the
most eloquent, and the most influential of his subjects, to
interview the Báb and to report to him the results of his investigations.
The Sháh had implicit confidence in his impartiality,
in his competence and profound spiritual insight.
He occupied a position of such pre-eminence among the
leading figures in Persia that at whatever meeting he happened
to be present, no matter how great the number of the
ecclesiastical leaders who attended it, he was invariably its
chief speaker. None would dare to assert his views in his
presence. They all reverently observed silence before him;
all testified to his sagacity, his unsurpassed knowledge and
mature wisdom.
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4 |
In those days Siyyid Yahyá was residing in Tihrán in the
house of Mírzá Lutf-`Alí, the Master of Ceremonies to the
Sháh, as the honoured guest of his Imperial Majesty. The
Sháh confidentially signified through Mírzá Lutf-`Alí his
desire and pleasure that Siyyid Yahyá should proceed to
Shíráz and investigate the matter in person. "Tell him from
us, commanded the sovereign, "that inasmuch as we repose
the utmost confidence in his integrity, and admire his moral
and intellectual standards, and regard him as the most suitable
among the divines of our realm, we expect him to proceed
to Shíráz, to enquire thoroughly into the episode of the
Siyyid-i-Báb, and to inform us of the results of his investigations;
We shall then know what measures it behoves us to
take."
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5 |
Siyyid Yahyá had been himself desirous of obtaining
first-hand knowledge of the claims of the Báb, but had been
unable, owing to adverse circumstances, to undertake the
journey to Fárs. The message of Muhammad Sháh decided
him to carry out his long-cherished intention. Assuring his
sovereign of his readiness to comply with his wish, he immediately
set out for Shíráz.
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6 |
On his way, he conceived the various questions which he
thought he would submit to the Báb. Upon the replies which
the latter gave to these questions would, in his view, depend
the truth and validity of His mission. Upon his arrival at
Shíráz, he met Mullá Shaykh `Alí, surnamed Azím, with
whom he had been intimately associated while in Khurásán.
He asked him whether he was satisfied with his interview
with the Báb. "You should meet Him," Azím replied, "and
seek independently to acquaint yourself with His Mission.
As a friend, I would advise you to exercise the utmost consideration
in your conversations with Him, lest you, too, in
the end should be obliged to deplore any act of discourtesy
towards Him."
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7 |
Siyyid Yahyá met the Báb at the home of Hájí Mírzá
Siyyid `Alí, and exercised in his attitude towards Him the
courtesy which Azím had counselled him to observe. For
about two hours he directed the attention of the Báb to the
most abstruse and bewildering themes in the metaphysical
teachings of Islám, to the obscurest passages of the Qur'án,
and to the mysterious traditions and prophecies of the imáms
of the Faith. The Báb at first listened to his learned references
to the law and prophecies of Islám, noted all his
questions, and began to give to each a brief but persuasive
reply. The conciseness and lucidity of His answers excited
the wonder and admiration of Siyyid Yahyá. He was overpowered
by a sense of humiliation at his own presumptuousness
and pride. His sense of superiority completely vanished.
As he arose to depart, he addressed the Báb in these words:
"Please God, I shall, in the course of my next audience with
You, submit the rest of my questions and with them shall
conclude my enquiry." As soon as he retired, he joined
Azím, to whom he related the account of his interview. "I
have in His presence," he told him, "expatiated unduly upon
my own learning. He was able in a few words to answer my
questions and to resolve my perplexities. I felt so abased
before Him that I hurriedly begged leave to retire." Azím
reminded him of his counsel, and begged him not to forget
this time the advice he had given him.
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8 |
In the course of his second interview, Siyyid Yahyá, to
his amazement, discovered that all the questions which he
had intended to submit to the Báb had vanished from his
memory. He contented himself with matters that seemed
irrelevant to the object of his enquiry. He soon found, to
his still greater surprise, that the Báb was answering, with the
same lucidity and conciseness that had characterised His
previous replies, those same questions which he had momentarily
forgotten. "I seemed to have fallen fast asleep,"
he later observed. "His words, His answers to questions
which I had forgotten to ask, reawakened me. A voice still
kept whispering in my ear: `Might not this, after all, have
been an accidental coincidence?' I was too agitated to collect
my thoughts. I again begged leave to retire. Azím, whom I
subsequently met, received me with cold indifference, and
sternly remarked: `Would that schools had been utterly
abolished, and that neither of us had entered one! Through
our little-mindedness and conceit, we are withholding from
ourselves the redeeming grace of God, and are causing pain
to Him who is the Fountain thereof. Will you not this time
beseech God to grant that you may be enabled to attain His
presence with becoming humility and detachment, that perchance
He may graciously relieve you from the oppression of
uncertainty and doubt?'
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9 |
"I resolved that in my third interview with the Báb I
would in my inmost heart request Him to reveal for me a
commentary on the Súrih of Kawthar.
[4]
I determined not
to breathe that request in His presence. Should he, unasked
by me, reveal this commentary in a manner that would immediately
distinguish it in my eyes from the prevailing standards
current among the commentators on the Qur'án, I
then would be convinced of the Divine character of His
Mission, and would readily embrace His Cause. If not, I
would refuse to acknowledge Him. As soon as I was ushered
into His presence, a sense of fear, for which I could not account,
suddenly seized me. My limbs quivered as I beheld
His face. I, who on repeated occasions had been introduced
into the presence of the Sháh and had never discovered the
slightest trace of timidity in myself, was now so awed and
shaken that I could not remain standing on my feet. The
Báb, beholding my plight, arose from His seat, advanced
towards me, and, taking hold of my hand, seated me beside
Him. `Seek from Me,' He said, `whatever is your heart's
desire. I will readily reveal it to you.' I was speechless with
wonder. Like a babe that can neither understand nor speak,
I felt powerless to respond. He smiled as He gazed at me and
said: `Were I to reveal for you the commentary on the Súrih
of Kawthar, would you acknowledge that My words are
born of the Spirit of God? Would you recognise that My
utterance can in no wise be associated with sorcery or magic?'
Tears flowed from my eyes as I heard Him speak these words.
All I was able to utter was this verse of the Qur'án: `O our
Lord, with ourselves have we dealt unjustly: if Thou forgive
us not and have not pity on us, we shall surely be of those
who perish.'
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10 |
"It was still early in the afternoon when the Báb requested
Hájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí to bring His pen-case and some paper.
He then started to reveal His commentary on the Súrih of
Kawthar. How am I to describe this scene of inexpressible
majesty? Verses streamed from His pen with a rapidity that
was truly astounding. The incredible swiftness of His writing,
[5]
the soft and gentle murmur of His voice, and the stupendous
force of His style, amazed and bewildered me. He
continued in this manner until the approach of sunset. He
did not pause until the entire commentary of the Súrih was
completed. He then laid down His pen and asked for tea.
Soon after, He began to read it aloud in my presence. My
heart leaped madly as I heard Him pour out, in accents of
unutterable sweetness, those treasures enshrined in that
sublime commentary.
[6]
I was so entranced by its beauty
that three times over I was on the verge of fainting. He
sought to revive my failing strength with a few drops of rose-water
which He caused to be sprinkled on my face. This
restored my vigour and enabled me to follow His reading to
the end.
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11 |
"When He had completed His recital, the Báb arose to
depart. He entrusted me, as He left, to the care of His maternal
uncle. `He is to be your guest,' He told him, `until
the time when he, in collaboration with Mullá `Abdu'l-Karím,
shall have finished transcribing this newly revealed
commentary, and shall have verified the correctness of the
transcribed copy.' Mullá `Abdu'l-Karím and I devoted three
days and three nights to this work. We would in turn read
aloud to each other a portion of the commentary until the
whole of it had been transcribed. We verified all the traditions
in the text and found them to be entirely accurate.
Such was the state of certitude to which I had attained that
if all the powers of the earth were to be leagued against me
they would be powerless to shake my confidence in the
greatness of His Cause.
[7]
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12 |
"As I had, since my arrival at Shíráz, been living in the
home of Husayn Khán, the governor of Fárs, I felt that my
prolonged absence from his house might excite his suspicion
and inflame his anger. I therefore determined to take leave
of Hájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí and Mullá `Abdu'l-Karím and to
regain the residence of the governor. On my arrival I found
that Husayn Khán, who in the meantime had been searching
for me, was eager to know whether I had fallen a victim to
the Báb's magic influence. `No one but God,' I replied, `who
alone can change the hearts of men, is able to captivate the
heart of Siyyid Yahyá. Whoso can ensnare his heart is of
God, and His word unquestionably the voice of Truth.'
My answer silenced the governor. In his conversation with
others, I subsequently learned, he had expressed the view
that I too had fallen a hopeless victim to the charm of that
Youth. He had even written to Muhammad Sháh and complained
that during my stay in Shíráz I had refused all manner
of intercourse with the `ulamás of the city. `Though nominally
my guest,' he wrote to his sovereign, `he frequently
absents himself for a number of consecutive days and nights
from my house. That he has become a Bábí, that he has been
heart and soul enslaved by the will of the Siyyid-i-Báb, I
have ceased to entertain any doubt.'
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13 |
"Muhammad Sháh himself, at one of the state functions
in his capital, was reported to have addressed these words
to Hájí Mírzá Aqásí: `We have been lately informed
[8]
that
Siyyid Yahyáy-i-Darábí has become a Bábí. If this be true,
it behoves us to cease belittling the cause of that siyyid.'
Husayn Khán, on his part, received the following imperial
command: `It is strictly forbidden to any one of our subjects
to utter such words as would tend to detract from the exalted
rank of Siyyid Yahyáy-i-Darábí. He is of noble lineage, a
man of great learning, of perfect and consummate virtue.
He will under no circumstances incline his ear to any cause
unless he believes it to be conducive to the advancement
of the best interests of our realm and to the well-being of the
Faith of Islám.'
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14 |
"Upon the receipt of this imperial injunction, Husayn
Khán, unable to resist me openly, strove privily to undermine
my authority. His face betrayed an implacable enmity and
hate. He failed, however, in view of the marked favours
bestowed upon me by the Sháh, either to harm my person or
to discredit my name.
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15 |
"I was subsequently commanded by the Báb to journey to
Burújird, and there acquaint my father
[9]
with the new Message.
He urged me to exercise towards him the utmost forbearance
and consideration. From my confidential conversations with
him I gathered that he was unwilling to repudiate the truth
of the Message I had brought him. He preferred, however,
to be left alone and to be allowed to pursue his own way."
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16 |
Another dignitary of the realm who dispassionately investigated
and ultimately embraced the Message of the Báb
was Mullá Muhammad-`Alí,
[10]
a native of Zanján, whom the
Báb surnamed Hujjat-i-Zanjani. He was a man of independent
mind, noted for extreme originality and freedom from
all forms of traditional restraint. He denounced the whole
hierarchy of the ecclesiastical leaders of his country, from
the Abváb-i-Arbá'ih
[11]
down to the humblest mullá among
his contemporaries. He despised their character, deplored
their degeneracy, and expatiated upon their vices. He even,
prior to his conversion, betrayed an attitude of careless contempt
for Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsá'í and Siyyid Kázim-i-Rashtí.
[12]
He was so filled with horror at the misdeeds that
had stained the history of shí'ah Islám that whoever belonged
to that sect, no matter how high his personal attainments,
was regarded by him as unworthy of his consideration. Not
infrequently did cases of fierce controversy arise between
him and the divines of Zanján which, but for the personal
intervention of the Sháh, would have led to grave disorder
and bloodshed. He was eventually summoned to the capital
and, in the presence of his opponents, representatives of the
ecclesiastical heads of Tihrán and other cities, was called
upon to vindicate his claim. Single-handed and alone he
would establish his superiority over his adversaries and
would silence their clamour. Although in their hearts they
dissented from his views and condemned his conduct, they
were compelled to acknowledge outwardly his authority and
to confirm his opinion.
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As soon as the Call from Shíráz reached his ears, Hujjat
deputed one of his disciples, Mullá Iskandar, in whom he
reposed the fullest confidence, to enquire into the whole
matter and to report to him the result of his investigations.
Utterly indifferen | |
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Notes
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